A Toggenburg Goat

Its been a long time since my first and only post but we have been making some progress. We have both been on a goat handling course (which was wonderful). Goats are really intelligent and very pretty creatures and of course most breeds produce yummy milk. Unfortunately, I can't manage to milk goats twice a day and get our toddler up and about and do the weekly work run up to London and back. However,  I'm sure we will have some Toggenburgs one day.

Daniel has been on a sheep course at South Yeo Farm West and we have both just been on a small holding weekend at South Yeo Farm East. These are lovely farms that run very good courses run by very nice people who are happy to impart their knowledge and listen to questions, even daft ones. Anyway, the search for land continues - we are going to try to get to know the local farmers better and hopefully that will help. In the interim we are thinking very seriously about sheep - now is the time for research!  I only got back yesterday and I am already on the second chapter of The Sheep Book for Smallholders and have bookmarked the breed page of the National Sheep Association website. On the chicken front, we have had a little issue. Hannah, a beautiful Cuckoo Maran hen we bought alongside Rachel (an equally beautiful Copper Black Maran) turned out to have a rather a loud crow (which our neighbours did not enjoy).  Luckily, I met one of the local farmers soon after the crowing started and his cousin, who breeds chickens as a hobby, has taken Hannah/Henry with great delight. This has also had the benfit of getting Rachel to go to bed with rest of the flock rather than haughtily sitting on top of the coop with her best mate Hannah/Henry. To make up for this slight disappointment we are going to get two young Cream Legbar hens who will eventually lay gorgeous duck egg blue eggs.We have just purchased some splendid new accommodation for them ( big enough to allow us to introduce up to 4 more chickens in to the main hen house (after the new Cream Legbars have settled in) and then to be a home for between 4 and 6 further chickens.  The new chickens will be coming home with Daniel when he comes back from a Pig Keeping course at S. Yeo Farm West on Sunday.  I'm back at work tomorrow but will be picking apples whenever poss. so we can take them to the DASH (Devon Association of Small Holders) Apple Pressing Day at the Wonham Oak Smallholding near Bampton on Saturday. Will try to report again after the weekend.